Apple no longer “thinks differently.” Why I almost stopped using the iPhone 15 Pro

For almost 17 years now I have been very fond of Apple technology. Starting with the very first iPhone, I not only watch how the guys from Cupertino, led by the extravagant Steve Jobs, change the world of consumer electronics and services, but also with great pleasure reaped the benefits of these changes.

But now it’s 2024, and I haven’t picked up my iPhone 15 Pro for a month, preferring a much more technologically advanced and convenient one. in all senses Android smartphone as the main device for work, photography and entertainment.

I made from my old iPad, switched from Apple Music to Spotify, and the entire diverse world of Apple services and technology has shrunk to the size of the 13″ MacBook screen on which I am typing this text.

The last straw was the publication of a list of the 100 best album settings in history according to Apple, which only caused bewilderment, bordering on resentment: in the first place was the American singer Lauren Hill, who is not the strongest in terms of fame and creativity, with her strange album in her solo career.

Who said she was Bob Marley’s common-law son? This is not relevant at all!

On topic: Apple named the 10 best albums in music history. First place is surprising

But okay, let’s leave the story with albums elsewhere. Let’s take a look at how Apple went from being a company that burst into the technological disaster of the world as a hippie who just does as he sees fit, in five minutes, to an outsider with no clear goals or concepts, releasing strange products and controversial commercials.

Problems with that very Apple magic

Photo from the review of the iPhone 12 Pro; unpacking the new Apple smartphone was a real event.

We have used the term “magic apple”, describing to them their user experience of interacting with Apple equipment. Based on the secret unboxing of the new iPhone, you can scan a simple and easy MacBook setup.

Complete accessories, stickers with apples, ease of use of applications and services – all this pleased me as an ordinary user.

And September loomed ahead and it was really interesting to dream up: what will Apple show new?? How this world will shake? What Android competitors will copy?

I would like to discuss, put forward theories, look for rumors and put everything aside for the opportunity to see new products among the first performances.

Everything has broken since 2023

Photo from a review of Apple Watch Series 9. Or maybe Series 8 – no difference.

In September 2023, I felt cheated for the first time after the presentation of the Apple Watch Series 9, because I returned to my time, but did not see anything new at all in the presented product.

Later, by inertia, I updated from iPhone 13 Pro Max to iPhone 15 Pro, but did not feel any special joys. Moreover, I recently took my “thirteenth“And I think that I might not have spent more than 100 thousand on a new smartphone just for the sake of a titanium frame and a dynamic island.

The hope was for Apple Vision Pro, Tim Cook and the company did not live up to expectations. Only 3 months have passed since the start of sales of these augmented reality headsets, do any of you even remember what it is?

Photo from a review of the Apple Vision Pro, which everyone stopped finding interesting a week after the start of sales.

And here is the recent presentation of new tablets, which again raises more questions than the desire to go and count money for the guys from Cupertino.

It has never happened that any stylus or accessory would be more interesting and have more technological innovations than the new iPad model. But in 2024 – please, this is how it turns out.

Total what we have today: mediocre presentations of already familiar devices with minor updates, lack of creativity and original features.

Against this background, am I waiting for the new iPhone 16 to be shown? Yes, not to say too muchbecause that same “Apple magic” is not even in rumors about them; previously, all speculation revolved around the location of the camera insert and new body colors.

iPhone 16 will receive new body colors. That’s the joy.

Against the backdrop of all this, gradually and other eventssuch as:

● Apple spent a decade developing a self-driving electric car model before abruptly abandoning it a few months ago.

● The CarPlay 2.0 software update was affected by both Mercedes-Benz and General Motors.

● The rate of return of Apple Vision Pro by customers back to stores is almost equal to the level of sales of these headsets.

● The company’s desire to become “environmentally friendly” is not welcomed and looks pathetic.

● The man who came up with the iconic iMac brand says Apple is now pursuing the i-first in all of its products.

● iOS 17.5 update bug that showed users that many of the deleted photos could not be deleted permanently.

● Apple is so behind most big tech companies in AI development that it has to partner with OpenAI to improve AI capabilities in iOS 18.

Enough? Or you can also mention the problems of companies with antitrust authorities in different countries, the threat of strikes by Apple Store employees, litigation with developers, and even a strict ban on Apple Watch sales in the United States.

The main thing is that almost all of the above diseases do not occur over a long period of time, but literally all last year.

This is set in the story of the number one high-tech company in the world, which sets the trends for all competitors? My answer is definitely not.

Bottom line: I cooled down my Apple devices.

If only Tim Cook was as sad as I am about the emergence of new ideas and their implementation in Apple products… But no.

Now I have a smart watch on my wrist, which really looks like a watch, charges once a week and completely suits me with its functionality.

I have an Android smartphone in my pocket that takes great photos, has official features like opening any app in a windowed window on another app’s panel, loud speakers with alternative sound, ample features his ecosystems and a pleasant design of the body made of light metal, leather and glass.

Do you remember that this was possible?

Using this smartphone, I can pay for contactless purchases, charge other devices from it, including wirelessly, it has much longer battery life, and installing any applications on it is not difficult.

I deliberately do not write what kind of smartphone I use, because this is not advertising material. This is the cry of an Apple fan who thought it was a betrayal of the soul of his favorite brand: I don’t want to give up my iPhone, but this is where everything is heading, because the iPhone is no longer the standard of convenience in the world of smartphones.

And I still successfully avoid full communication with Windows laptops. I’m afraid to imagine that one day I will realize that there are touchpads more convenient than on my MacBook Air.

Unfortunately, it’s clear to me that the company that sees an opportunity to change the world of advertising and computing with the “Think Different” campaign is now simply trying to keep up by making money from a long-established hardware and software ecosystem.

If this continues, then after a few presentations of the same iPhones and watches, Apple will become an analogue of Vertu, your smartphones were just a symbolic requirement for a small group of people, but in no way were they used as daily gadgets for millions of users.

Where is Vertu now? And nowhere. Sank into oblivion.

There is very little time left before the WWDC 2024 presentation. I hope that I underestimate the potential of the guys from Cupertino and the new iOS 18, and then the iPhone 16, will surprise us all again.

But the chances of this, alas, are very small.